5"/51 caliber gun
|part_length= bore (51 calibres) rifling |width= |height= |crew= |cartridge= |caliber= |action= |rate= |velocity= average |range= |max_range= |feed= |sights= |breech= |recoil= |carriage= |elevation= to +20° |traverse= |diameter= |filling= |filling_weight= |detonation= |yield= }} 5"/51 caliber guns (spoken "five-inch-fifty-one-caliber") formed the main battery of the first United States Navy light cruisers and the secondary batteries of United States Navy battleships built from 1907 through the 1920s. United States naval gun terminology indicates the gun fired a projectile 5 inches (127 mm) in diameter, and the barrel was 51 calibers long (barrel length is 5" × 51 = 255" or 6.4 meters).Fairfield 1921 p. 156 Description The built-up gun consisted of a tube, full-length jacket, and single hoop with side swing Welin breech block and Smith-Asbury mechanism for a total weight of about 5 metric tons. Some Marks included a tapered liner. A 24.5-pound (11 kg) charge of smokeless powder gave a 50-pound (23 kg) projectile a velocity of 3,150 feet per second (960 m/s). Range was 15,850 yards (9 statute miles) (15 km) at the maximum elevation of 20 degrees. Useful life expectancy was 900 effective full charges (EFC) per liner.Campbell 1985 p.136 US service Increased awareness of the need for anti-aircraft protection (especially following the attack on Pearl Harbor) encouraged mounting of dual-purpose 5"/38 caliber guns in later battleships and most of the World War 1-era battleships were rearmed with 5"/38 caliber guns or 5"/25 caliber guns during World War 2. Surplus guns from scrapped or re-armed battleships were mounted in United States Coast Guard cutters, auxiliaries, small aircraft carriers, coast defense batteries, fleet submarines, and Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships. 5"/51 shore batteries were used with great effectiveness by the Marines during the Battle of Wake Island in December 1941. The 5"/51 caliber gun was mounted on: * - replacing the original 10 5"/40 and 4 8"/35 guns * Preston 1980 p. 60 * * * Breyer 1973 p. 201 * * Breyer 1973 p. 202 * * Breyer 1973 p. 205 * * Breyer 1973 p. 210 * * Breyer 1973 p. 214 * * Breyer 1973 p. 219 * * * Breyer 1973 p. 226 * * Breyer 1973 p. 230 * * * Fahey 1939 p. 18 * * * Fahey 1939 p. 7 * Friedman 1983 p. 162 * Friedman 1983 p. 407 * * * * Friedman 1983 p. 164 * Bogue class escort carriersFriedman 1983 p. 170 * Tambor class submarines * USCG Tampa Class CuttersFahey 1941 p. 42 * USCG Lake Class Cutters * USCG Treasury Class Cutters * Banff class sloops British service During World War I three of these guns formed part of the coastal defences of Scapa Flow.Tony DiGiulian, "United States of America 5"/51 (12.7 cm) Marks 7, 8, 9, 14 and 15. British 5"/51 (12.7 cm) BL Marks VI and VII In World War II a small number of these guns entered British service on board ships transferred under the Lend-lease arrangement. Some of these guns were then transferred to New Zealand and deployed ashore for coast defense. Notes References * * * * * * * External links Category:World War II naval weapons Category:Naval guns of the United States Category:127 mm artillery Category:Coastal artillery